shades of purple
by norasarc
Summary: Zarkon was a ruthless creature, and Lance wasn't afraid to openly praise the passing of the tyrant. Being the prince of the Alteans, however, meant he had to remain as civil as possible in ways he wished he didn't have to. Including meeting up with the Galra prince - the son of a murderer - and showing him around the castle to unite the two races.


"You've _got_ to be kidding me, 'llura!" Lance's not-so-posh voice shrieked, his eyes wide in desperation as he stared at the girl - his _sister_ \- who had just announced something incredibly stupid. Something that, in Lance's eyes, was a complete act of betrayal. Something he would never, in a thousand Deca-Phoebs, be happy with.

His incredulous outcry was responded with only a mere click of her tongue. "Honestly, Lance, you should be far past this. It is not big deal-"

"Not a big deal? Allura, you're asking me to- to _date_ the son of our fathers enemy!" The word date slipped out of his mouth as a frustrated hiss. "Why can't you do it?"

Allura simply sighed, sending her younger brother a pointed look. "The boy is eighteen, Lance. He's barely older than you. Plus, I've heard he isn't interested in females."

Lance scoffed at that. "He's a Galra; the son of _Zarkon._ You really think he's interested in anything?"

"Lance, Allura is right," a less patient voice filled the silence, and Lance groaned under his breath. Of course Shiro is going to agree with Allura. "The hatred between the Galra and the Alteans is behind us now. With Zarkon defeated, it would be wise of us to try and make peace with the new Galra leader."

"You're all okay with this because you're not the one being forced to date him." Lance snapped, his voice sliding into the monotone sound he fell to when he was annoyed. Allura rolled her eyes, barely glancing up from the console she was currently working at. If he wasn't so irritated with her, he might have felt bad for the amount of work she had to do.

She looked up at him a bit more. "It isn't a date, Lance. You're just going to be showing him around the castle for one-" she held up her index finger to further prove her point. "-Quintant. It's not like I'm asking for you two to get married."

There was a small snicker that he knew was near his waist. A whir of brown, fluffy hair sped through his sight before his eyes landed on the figure that was now leaning against the control panel. The youngest (yet probably the most intimidating) member of his team stood there with a wide smirk on their face. "Loverboy here totally has a crush on the Galra prince."

Lance squawked indignantly, throwing his hand over his chest in mock shock. "Excuse me? He's a Galra, Pidge. G-a-l-r-a." He spelt it out slowly, turning to each of his friends in turn with each letter before landing back on Pidge. "And I'm Altean, which means-"

"What, did you forget how to spell Altean?"

He glared daggers straight through those oversized glasses of theirs before continuing. "-that we're natural enemies. Rivals, if you will. Plus, come on, have you seen the Galras? They're just- they're all fuzzy and nine feet tall. Not my type."

"I don't think he's completely Galra, though." A softer voice spoke up from besides Shiro. Lance's closest friend, Hunk, was resting his fingers on his chin thoughtfully after speaking his small suggestion. Lance rose an eyebrow, turning his gaze from Pidge to Hunk.

"What makes you say that?" Lance questioned, trying his best to brush off the grin Pidge was sending him. Hunk shrugged before pointing to his ears.

"His ears are thinner and pointier than the other Galras. Almost like an Altean."

"That's right, wasn't his mother Altean at one point?" Allura spoke up, her voice perking up at the thought. Despite still being completely against the situation, Lance understood where her excitement was coming from. Finding anyone with Altean heritage was nearly impossible at this point, what with the _Galra_ wiping them from existence. But that's fine, no biggie. They can just put that behind them for the power of friendship!

Unaware of Lance's sarcastic inner monologue, Hunk nodded enthusiastically at Allura's question. Pidge was still smirking at Lance, but they seemed more tuned into the other conversation now, much to Lance's relief.

"I think so. Honestly, his family past kind of sucked-"

"Oh, boo-hoo. The son of the most hated and evil creature in the universe had a rough childhood. He can cry me a river." Lance sneered, earning a few surprised looks from those around him. "What? It's hard for me to pity the son of a murderer."

"It's understandable for you to hold a grudge against him, Lance, but just try to remember," Shiro placed his hand on Lance's shoulder. "Being born into that life wasn't his decision."

"And you, dear brother, are going to treat him with respect. He'll be here in a few Doboshes, and I expect you to be on your best behavior." Allura frowned at him, clearly displeased with his attitude. How could she possibly be so calm about having the son of the creature who murdered their father in their castle? The thought sent cold chills down Lance's spine.

"Yeah, sure. I'll make sure to greet him with a hand-knitted sweater and a biiiiig kiss!" He threw his hands together and pressed them to his cheek. He mockingly fluttered his eyelashes at his older sister, who was visibly fuming in her seat. Pidge leaned forward a bit, nudging their elbow against Lance's ribcage.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" They muttered, earning nothing but a heavy glare and puffed cheeks. They simply winked in return.

"There's no use fighting this, dude," Hunk clapped his hand onto Lance's back, almost sending the latter flying across the room from the unintentional amount of force. Hunk didn't seem to notice this, though. "Just get the meeting over with quickly and politely. Allura's right; it's not like you have to marry him or anything."

If anyone could convince him to calm down, it was Hunk. Lance nodded, dropping his hands back down to his sides. "Right. One Quintant. Granted, it will be the longest one I've ever had to push through, but after today, it'll be over. No big deal."

It was, of course, a very big deal.

* * *

He wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting when he was told he'd be meeting up with a Galra prince. He knew what the Galra looked like only from years of fighting them. It was rare to see them without their helmet and even rarer to see them without a weapon. Allura had insisted that both princes arrive completely unarmed, much to Lance's utter horror. No amount of begging and arguing seemed to change her mind about it. ' _We're in our own castle, Lance, there's not much he can do weaponless_.' She was a bit too optimistic at times, but he loved her anyway.

Back to the point at hand, he had an image already printed in his head of what this so-called prince was going to look like. Those weird, fuzzy ears and fuzzy, greyish skin that made them look like they had just risen from the dead. And the weird, claw-like fingers that sat at the end of their unnaturally buff and long arms. They weren't a pretty sight. Granted, most of the time he saw them they had a burning hatred in their iris-free eyes and they were fighting to the death, but still. Not pretty.

So when the prince stepped out the ship that had landed on their temporary planet only moments ago, everything Lance thought he knew about the appearance of a Galra turned out to be complete and utter garbage. In fact, he was almost annoyed at how wrong he had been..

The prince had nothing in common with the Galra soldiers surrounding him. His ears were pointer than the rest of the Galra, just as Hunk had described, and sat on the side of his head just like an Altean. His features seemed a lot rounder, too, and his eyes were a pure white rather than a hazy yellow. To describe it shortly, (because Lance could go on about how this prince looked) he was soft. As he stepped closer, it became clear that he was a few inches shorter than Lance, and also a bit smaller in size overall.

The most noticeable thing that Lance saw, which was what was still on his mind even as the Galra soldiers headed back to their ship, was that the prince's skin was almost as smooth (if not smoother, curse him) as his own. Worst of all? It was _purple._ His skin wasn't grey or dirty. It was a soft, smooth purple that reminded Lance very strongly of a flower he had loved back in Altea when he was a young boy. It was the most gentle purple he had ever seen in his life and it was beyond annoying.

So, yeah. He looked remarkably different than any Galra Lance had ever encountered. Or any alien he had ever seen in general. And as much as he hated it, he struggled to stop himself from further examining his features. He had a mission to complete, after all. He had to stay professional. So, after mustering up what little self-control he possessed, he flashed the prince his trademark grin.

"You must be the Galra prince. Quite the entourage you have there." Lance mused, glancing up at the large, dimly-colored ship that hovered dangerously close to the castle. As if it were the Alteans who started all of the wars and battles when they interacted and not the bloodthirsty Galra. _Stay cool, Lance._

To his surprise, the prince chuckled a bit. "Yeah, well, they're not very keen on this plan." He spoke almost as softly as he appeared, causing Lance's lips to run completely dry within half a Tick. Trying his best to casually rehydrate his lips, Lance replied with a polite laugh.

"I can't say I blame them." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, it wasn't even a whole Deca-Phoeb since we were last trying to defeat each other."

"Now that my father is dead, this war is no longer mine to fight." Was all the prince said in return. Lance wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. He had only been a baby when his father died, but it was still a sad memory for him. Something that he would never be able to shrug off as this Galra had.

"Hm. We'll see about that, shall we?" Lance didn't frown or smile after the question slipped through his lips, praying to any Deity that was listening to him that Allura hadn't heard the sarcastic slip-up. He slid over to the prince's side, hooking arms with him as casually as he could. The prince simply rose an eyebrow at him.

"I've got to show you around the castle, remember? Gotta make sure you don't sneak off," he sighed, turning to look at the stranger beside him. "Also, I should probably catch your name so I can stop referring to you as 'the prince' in my head."

"Oh, so you've been thinking about me? Is that why you're so quiet?"

Much Lance's great annoyance, he could feel his cheeks burn in embarrassment. "N-no, of course not. I'm just saying, you know, if I were to think about you - which I'm _not_ \- I'd like a name to put to that evil face of yours."

The prince rolled his eyes, but Lance could have sworn he saw a hint of a smirk on the corner of his lips. Not that he looked down at his lips, mind you. He was just excellent as noticing small movements. After a moment of consideration, the prince returned Lance's stare.

"My name is Keith." He said slowly, as though the idea was completely foreign to him. Lance quirked an eyebrow, placing his free hand on his hip.

"Keith? That sounds awfully human." He stated curiously, to which Keith only shrugged. "Well, whatever, that's cool I guess. My name is Lance."

"That sounds rather human, too." Keith quipped, his eyes glistening in what Lance assumed was playfulness. Lance swallowed down a surprised laugh, settling on a half-hearted glare. Whether or not Keith had noticed his shaky behavior, Lance wasn't entirely sure. He took the fact Keith said nothing as a good sign, though.

"Yeah, well, my parents loved humans. Thought they were fascinating." Lance admitted as the two of them began walking towards the entrance of the castle. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation; talking about his family to the son of the man who tore it apart. He was entering the castle, _his family's castle,_ with a Galra prince. A part of him was burning in guilt and anger. That part was telling him to force Keith to leave and return to his Galra ship. To refuse to even look at another Galra again. But the other part of his was curious and hopeful. Maybe this would turn out okay. Maybe Keith would end up being different. Maybe they really could start over.

As if he was completely aware of the thoughts plaguing Lance's mind, Keith finally broke the silence. "Humans are pretty interesting, I suppose. I can see where your parents were coming from."

Lance smiled the slightest bit at that as they began slowly walking up the steps of the castle. He was remarkably close to Keith as they stood arm-in-arm, and the purple tone of his skin was still driving Lance insane. Purple had always been one of his favorite colors, but now? It was outstanding, just how much he liked it.

They silently walked through the large doors, the only sound that echoed through the halls was the sound of their shoes clicking against the marble floors. Normally, Lance could handle making small talk. He was painfully extroverted and intensely enjoyed talking to new people. But this situation felt incredibly different. Keith wasn't searching for conversation. He wasn't even looking at Lance; his eyes were wide and scanning the large castle walls.

The silence was driving him insane, and he couldn't keep it up. "Different than your Galra ships, hm?"

Keith blinked, as if he had forgotten that Lance was there in the first place. He turned his attention over to Lance, his white eyes staring into Lance's curiously. There may not have been pupils or an iris, but they were really cute. Not that Lance thought _he_ was cute, no. Of course not. Those eyes would look cute on anyone. Sure, the purple skin only made the white look purer, and Keith's black hair framed them perfectly, but that was all besides the point.

"It's a lot different than my fath- or, _my_ ships." He corrected himself quietly, and Lance frowned as a twinge of pity shot through his chest. He quickly fixed his demeanor, hoping his frown looked unimpressed rather than pitiful.

"I can only imagine how dull things must be in your castle. No offense." He barely remembered to add that last part in for the sake of being polite, but Keith didn't really seem to mind either way. He was absently examining the elaborately decorated walls, his lips once against twitching in the ghost of a smile.

"None taken. You aren't wrong, my castle is… Nothing like this. For example, I've noticed a lot of decorations and leisurely rooms here. In my castle, the only rooms we don't sleep in are used to train or test out new technology."

Lance stared at him in disbelief. "What? That sounds so boring though! What about a dining hall? Or a ballroom? Or a- you at least have a music room, right?"

Keith only shook his head. "No. I've never actually had the opportunity to do those sorts of things. My father was very persistent and keeping me on the battlefield as often as he could."

That was something that Lance couldn't imagine. His father, according to Allura, would always talk about keeping his family far away from the battlefield. He feared constantly over the idea of losing one of them or having them get caught up in a battle they didn't belong in. So while the fact Zarkon would send his son out to his death every day wasn't surprising at all to Lance, he couldn't say it didn't make him feel uneasy.

Before Lance could say anything, Keith had seemingly dropped the topic, continuing to look about the hall in absolute wonder. "I can't imagine you're going to show me every single room in this castle, right?"

Lance scoffed, the uneasy feeling still sitting in his stomach despite the subject change. "No, that would take Vargas, and we don't have that kind of time. I can-"

"Wait, first, is that some sort of Altean word?"

"What?"

"You know.." Keith glanced over at him, but Lance merely stared back with confusion clearly visible in his eyes. Keith sighed, his eyebrows creasing as he bit his lip, and Lance pretended to not notice the adorable fang that poked out. "The, uh, V….Vargas?"

He pronounced it horribly, but the hopefulness and worry in his voice was enough to force Lance to smile supportively, tightening his arm around Keith's just a bit more to show that he did just fine. "Yeah, Varga is Altean for an hour, which is a measure used in earth."

"The Galra tend to stick to the earth measurements, for whatever reason. I knew that the Alteans had their own language, but I always assumed it was lost in time as the race evolved."

Lance shrugged. "Sure, a lot of the original Altean language is tucked away in history books, but we still use some of the measurements and slang. Like earlier, when I said Deca-Phoebs. That's the equivalent to a year. Dobosh is one minute, Tick is a second - actually, it's just a bit longer than a second - and Quintant is a day. There are more, but it's not that hard to find in books if you're genuinely interested."

"What about the slang?" Keith asked, his voice dripping with such a sweet curiosity that Lance was beginning to feel bad for assuming the very worst of him. Forget that, he had felt that way the second the Galra prince opened his mouth. Lance may have been quick to assume and quick to point fingers, but he was smart enough to know when someone proved him wrong. And Keith continued to do that within the short amount of time they've talked.

"Well, there's only one I actually use, which is Quiznak. It basically replaces every human curse word, since those just sound so crude and ugly." Lance smiled at the shorter boy, who nodded carefully as he spoke.

"Why not just use the human language like a lot of the galaxy?" Keith asked, stuffing his free hand into the pocket of his jacket as he continued. "That's what most of the planets decided to do, isn't it?"

If the question had come from anyone else, Lance would have assumed they were belittling the Alteans. But Keith spoke with a deep sincerity that Lance didn't doubt was real in the slightest. Rather than being defensive, Lance was rather flattered at the question. The curiosity. He wouldn't have thought a Galra could be so inquisitive. It was almost cute.

Rather than entertaining that last thought, he forced himself to focus on Keith's question. The closeness between them suddenly felt a lot more noticeable and intoxicating. "Oh, well- as much as my parents adored humans, there was nothing they loved more than tradition. Specifically my mother. She deeply enjoyed all of the Altean customs and vocabulary, and passed a lot of her knowledge to my older sister, who then passed what she could remember onto me. If my parents were still here, I wouldn't be surprised if I spoke a lot more freely. But using some Altean vocab makes me feel close to them, you know?" Lance knew Keith couldn't possibly begin to understand what he was talking about or feeling, but Keith nodded anyway.

"It's nice," he whispered after a moment. Lance snuck a glance at him, thankful that Keith was staring straight ahead. Even with pure white eyes, he could tell by the way Keith was squinting that he was trying hard to not glance around, clearly doing his best to form the words in his head. "It's nice that you have a connection with them. Not a lot of- no, _none_ of the Galra have things like that. There aren't really parents or family members once you reach a certain age. You're just… On your own, left with memories. I think it's admirable that the Alteans try to keep the spirit of their ancestors alive."

Lance blinked, completely unaware that the soft blue markings on his cheeks were glowing brighter as his cheeks grew warmer. "Y-yeah."

And though Keith was completely mesmerized by just how sparkly the shining markings made Lance's eyes look, he chose to say nothing about it for the time being. He just offered the beautiful prince a small smile, of which he returned.

* * *

Silence between them was rare after that. When Lance wasn't talking about his family, Keith was talking about the training missions his own father would send him on. When they weren't talking about anything, Lance would point to a nearby room and share what it was for, as well as any amusing memories connected to it.

"I remember one time, when they first got stranded here, Hunk and Pidge were messing with the tubes of the food goo - a healthy substanance for our sick patients - when they were supposed to be sitting in the mainroom. They're tech genuines on earth, but here? They knew next to nothing about Altean technology. That didn't seem to stop them at all- they somehow managed to clog the entire tube until it exploded all over the infirmary."

Lance discovered that Keith's laugh was absolutely incredible, much to his surprise. He hadn't been sure if the prince could laugh at all, let alone laugh with such grace and support. Lance felt like he had told the most hilarious story in the world even though he was well aware he left out a lot of the funny parts on accident. Keith was smiling wide, though, two little fangs poking out on either side of his mouth when he grinned. Lance could feel his heart melting all over his organs already.

"So- there weren't any patients there, right? That would be awful." His smile had subsided a bit as he spoke, much to Lance's dismay. His question had prompted a small laugh from Lance, and he could have swore he saw Keith's cheeks turn a bit darker. They had also just walked by an overhead lamp, though, so he didn't get his hopes up too high.

"No, no patients, luckily. Just a lot of scolding and laughing. And cleaning." Lance shuddered at the memory, shaking it out of his head as quickly as he could. "Lots of cleaning."

The small action nudged another quiet laugh out of Keith, almost like a fond chuckle. And Lance could have swore his cheeks tinged darker again- but they were back to normal before he could even blink. What's with this guy anyway? What's he doing with the Galra? How did someone raised by Zarkon end up being so sweet? Lance spent years making sure he was a good person to those around him, and this Galra prince was able to do it even after being taught otherwise for years? Unbelievable.

"There isn't a real infirmary on my base," Keith spoke after a moment of a comfortable silence. Lance stared at him in disbelief, causing the shorter boy to shrug defensively. "There wasn't a need for one! When a Galra was injured, we were told to leave him that way. Either he patched himself out or… died. It was a test of strength."

"Dude." Lance continued to stare at the prince, wide-eyed and somewhat terrified. The safety and wellbeing of his teammates was always his number one priority, there was no question about it. If one of his friends were hurt or unable to continue the mission, he'd find a way to help them pull back. The idea of leaving them there, possibly _dying_ , made his heart hurt more than he could handle. And this guy had to deal with it every single mission? "That- that sucks, man."

Keith looked torn between showing his amusement and showing his curiosity once again. "For an Altean, you sure do speak like a human."

Lance shrugged. "That's what happens when you live with three other humans. Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro are from earth. They came here together after their lions called them." He waved his hand dismissively, his mind still elsewhere. "But, seriously, the Galra code is messed up. Doesn't it hurt to leave them all behind to die?"

He regretted the question as soon as he asked it. Keith had originally been looking at him fondly, listening closely to what he was saying, but the second Lance asked that stupid question, his face dropped completely. Like it was something he tried to avoid thinking or talking about. _Of course he would avoid talking about it-! Who wants to talk about the death of their teammates?_ Why had he even thought to ask that in the first place?

He knew the answer, though. He just didn't like it. A part of him was still bitter, still hoping that the Galra were the same as they had been years ago. Not for the sake of being right, he wasn't _that_ petty. The idea of the Galra finally changing during _his_ lifetime and not when his parents were alive hurt him gravely. Why did he deserve to see the change and not his parents, who spent their entire adulthood defending their kingdom from the Galra? Who _died_ protecting the very child who was witnessing the change?

His parents would be ecstatic at the sight. He knew he was overthinking the situation and that his parents were probably scolding him up in Heaven for how dumb his head could get. With his parents in mind, he simply stopped walking, accidentally causing Keith to jerk back to his side. After unhooking his arm from Lance's, Keith sucked his lips in, obviously aware of the tension between the two. Lance sighed, turning to face Keith, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

Lance frowned, taking another step forward. "Sorry, dude- I know it's gotta be rough. Just- It's- not your fault…" Lance trailed off, his words catching in his throat at the emptiness of his shaky apology. He didn't have the right words to comfort Keith. Simply telling him that it wasn't his fault when Keith couldn't do anything about it didn't seem right. Lance was well aware that those words would be empty; how many times has he said the same to himself when one of his friends were injured?

Instead, he put his hand on Keith's shoulder, his lips twitching away a smile when Keith glanced from his hand up to his eyes. It would be wrong to smile when the situation is like this, but man, was it hard. Who would have thought a Galra could be so infuriatingly sweet?

Lance squeezed his shoulder a bit. "Listen- what happened when Zarkon was ruler doesn't have anything to do with you now." He blinked, shaking his head a bit. "Well, okay, so the results of what he did kind of have to do with you- but not in the way that you think. It's your job to fix all of it, you know? You can change all of the rules and stuff. Hey, you could even re-decorate your base! Give it a nice ballroom. I promise to be the first to visit."

Much to Lance's relief, Keith smiled. It wasn't the grin he had when he was laughing earlier, but it was still a smile. A smile that Lance found himself liking a lot more than he should. And, seriously, were the fangs necessary? They only made Lance's markings burn. Despite the strange feeling in his stomach, Lance returned the smile reassuringly.

"I guess it is time for me to make a few changes, hm?" Keith mused through a sigh, dropping his shoulders a bit. "That's the hard part. I have to find a way to please the Galra _and_ the rest of the galaxy. There isn't a planet in this universe that's willing to openly accept and forgive what my father and his men have done. What _I've_ done. Not that I blame them in the slightest, of course. We don't deserve to be forgiven."

"Hey, that's in the past now." Lance let his arm slide down to Keith's arm without thinking about it, pleased to find that Keith didn't shy away from his touch. He remained silent for a moment, nodding to himself as though to remind himself that this wasn't all his fault. Lance squeezed Keith's arm, prodding the latter to open his eyes and look back at the Altean.

"I know it's in the past now, but it's hard. It's hard to prove to people that I'm not my father- even when I followed his orders like everyone else. Just between us," he licked his lips, eyes fluttering down to the floor. "A part of me wants to take the Galra and go far, far away from any sign of life. Because I know those men- so many of them would jump at the chance to fight even an innocent. If I were to take them and live out our days away from civilization-"

Lance pulled his hand off of Keith's arm and held it in front of Keith's face, keeping it there until he trailed off. His eyes were dancing between shining in amusement and glaring in frustration, though the smile on his face gave the winning feeling away. After ensuring that Keith was going to remain silent, Lance dropped his hand to his side, a pointed look spread onto his face, a look that meant he wasn't in the mood.

"Cmon, Keith, that's an awful idea. We just became allies - friends, even - and you're just going to abandon me? I'm heartbroken." Every word he spoke dripped with playful heartache, one of his hands pressed against his chest to add emphasis to his little show. Keith opened his mouth to speak, but Lance merely rose his hand again before clamping it shut. His heart was about to burst when Keith's mouth interestedly followed the motion. _That was really cute._

"Wait a Tick," he glared at Keith. "Make me a promise, okay?"

Why was he doing this? This was an awful idea. Every single siren blaring in his head was telling him to shut up before it was too late. Technically, he had already opened his mouth and started the stupid suggestion, so it was already far too late. But the sirens were just _begging_ him to shut his Quiznak and wave the change of topic off. Then there were a few supportive voices in there, but most of them sounded like a smug Pidge and he did his best to shut those out.

Similar to Hunk from earlier that day, Keith seemed completely oblivious to the inner torment Lance was dealing with. He simply cocked his head to the side, his bottom lip jutted out just enough to resemble a pout of intrigue. Lance tore his eyes away from Keith desperately, trying to find _anything_ to look at that could possibly distract him. Alas, the halls were reaching their end, and they were very silent, save for the two princes still hanging around idly.

 _Don't leave him hanging, Lance. Get it over with. You've buried yourself this far; you're not a quitter._ "Promise me you won't leave until you've been on at least _one_ date with me."

Ah, there we go. According to Lance, the world was shattering around him. It dawned on him that he loathed this person only Vargas ago - and now here he was, implying that he would very much like to take Keith out sometime. In Lance's defense, he wouldn't have hated Keith if he had known how different he was from the rest of his race. He was a black sheep. A lone wolf. He was interesting and undeniably cute. Plus, what's one date going to hurt? They don't even have to call it a date. They can just talk more after this. Or not at all, that'd be okay (it would be the opposite of okay).

Whilst Lance was clawing at the edge of his mind trying to figure out just why he decided to open his mouth, Keith was staring at him in confusion and utter shock. Lance was internally begging Keith to forget the whole thing and ask more about the castle, but the universe had other plans.

"A… date?" He repeated softly, as though testing the word out on his own lips. He wasn't visibly flustered, save for his wide eyes and slightly parted lips. Lance audibly gulped, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as he forced out an awkward chuckle. He's asked tons of princesses and other girls out before - a few guys and those who fall in neither category, too. Why was this the one that was making his mouth run dry? Most likely because he was _Altean_ and Keith was _Galra._ Plus, they just met, who is Lance to assume he has the right to ask him out like that? Make him promise not to leave when, really, the choice is Keith's alone?

Using what little self-control and focus he had left, Lance nodded, his mind racing with a collage of different, arrogant things he said to others in the past. "Of course. If anything were to convince you to stay, it would clearly be a date with me."

"Clearly." Keith crossed his arms, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "You do know who I am, right? What being seen with me in public could do to your image?"

Lance blinked. The thought hadn't crossed his mind in the slightest, and it still didn't seem very important to him. Was that the only thing that bothered Keith about the suggestion? Interesting. "I don't really think who I go out with is the public's concern."

"Yeah, it's easy to _say_ that, but when you're getting a bunch of strange looks and everyone's muttering around you-"

"I take it your first date didn't go very well?" Lance interrupted, biting the side of his cheek in an understanding pity. His first date hadn't been one to write home about, either. The frustrated glare that Keith sent to the wall seemed to answer his question. "Look, Keith, people are going to talk no matter _who_ either of us go out with. There is literally no way to please the entire galaxy."

Keith clicked his tongue, one of his hands sitting prettily on his hip. The other one was gesturing around frantically as he spoke in frustration. "We were enemies a few _weeks_ ago. The galaxy hasn't forgotten that. They're never going to."

"Exactly!" Lance was becoming less embarrassed about his suggestion and more defensive of it. What image was he going to ruin? He could care less what people thought of him when it came to his personal life - he was a huge people pleaser, but when it came to the more meaningful and private decisions he made, he kept only himself and those who genuinely cared about him in his mind. "That's exactly why we _should_ go out, Keith. We can make a statement. I can see the headlines now: ' _handsome Altean prince asks a cute Galra prince to dinner. Is this truly the end of the lifelong war?'"_ He didn't catch himself until it was ( _again_ ) far too late.

"Cute, huh?" Keith smirked at him, and Lance would have preferred being shot in the gut a thousand times with Shiro's bayard. He could smile, grin, and smirk like it didn't take any effort at all. He didn't even need to find his best angle. He could just stand there and further prove Lance's accidental slip-up.

He had fallen too far into his own pit of mistakes to save himself from any of the mistakes he had made within the past few minutes. "Oh, did I say that? Well- that can't be surprising, Keith. Come on. I just stated the obvious."

"Hm." Keith only replied with a quiet hum, and for the first time, Lance hated that Keith didn't have an iris or pupil to follow solely for the fact he wasn't sure if Keith was looking at him or glancing off to the side. His head was turned towards Lance, however, so Lance assumed he was looking him in the eyes.

"Leeet's just forg-"

With creased eyebrows and his tongue poking through his lips, Keith glanced down at his hand before holding it up in front of Lance's face. He mimicked Lance's previous actions, clamping his hand shut as Lance spoke and eventually trailed off. The Altean was torn between grinning wildly at the absolute angel in front of him and scolding him (softly) for interrupting him. He choice to remain silent, not wanting to tear Keith away from what he was going to say.

"Where would you take me?" He asked, dropping his arm back down so he could once again cross his arms. Lance stared at him in disbelief, his eyebrows raised and his tense arms dropping to his sides. Keith looked at him expectantly, his foot tapping a bit in impatience.

"Oh- uh, I don't know. There are tons of cool places around the gala- oh, no, wait-! I'd definitely take you to see a play or musical, since you've never really been able to listen to music or enjoy any type of entertainment before. After we get something to eat, obviously. Going to places like that on an empty stomach is the worst, trust me." He'd been on a lot of dates that he had planned extravagantly, but none had sounded nearly as entertaining as this.

"Mmhm." Keith nodded slowly, tilting his head to the side a bit. "And what if we _did_ receive a lot of looks and comments? To the point we couldn't just sit silently anymore?"

"We'd leave." Lance shrugged, completely unfazed by the question. "Not a place I would want to be in."

"Do you not care about your image?"

Lance scoffed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Of course I care about my image, Keith. But it isn't going to shape the way I live. I'm not _just_ a prince- I'm my own guy. I can make a few choices on my own."

"You're weird."

"Thank you?" Lance did his best to pretend that the sudden insult hadn't stung a bit, but by the way Keith was looking at him, he had a feeling he did an awful job at hiding it.

"Not in a bad way." He said quickly, raising his hands up in defense. He smiled ever-so-slightly, making Lance's stomach twist a bit more in a feeling he didn't recognize. "You're a good weird. You're interesting."

"Interesting enough to go on a date with?"

"I don't know," if Keith's tone wasn't radiating with a playful (and possibly _flirty)_ vibe, Lance would have let the embarrassment settle in once again. "We're rivals, remember? I'm a Galra prince. You have every reason to hate me."

Lance laughed at that, startling Keith just enough for Lance to notice his purple cheeks tinge an even darker purple. "I was thinking about that a lot this morning, actually. I was so certain that I had every reason to hate you. Despite what Pidge might tell you, though, I'm a pretty intellectual person, and once we met and spoke, I knew you were different than Zarkon. You weren't even _alive_ when your father did what he did, there's no reason for me to shove the blame onto you now that Zarkon is gone."

"But-"

"Nope-!" Lance spoke loudly, cutting off the worried interjection before Keith could make another remark about their rivalry. "I'm trying really hard to put the past behind me, and I think it's time I add this feud to the list. You said yourself that you didn't like Zarkon's decision. Heck, you helped us get rid of him! The least I could do is attempt to see that people are different. You agreed to come here and meet me just to help calm the chaos in the neighboring kingdoms. That means a lot, you know."

Lance took a small breath. "But, if you're genuinely not interested in a date, that's okay. Just don't use stuff like that to validate your lack of enthusiasm. I don't want an excuse or an apology, I'm past that."

Silence followed Lance's carefully-chosen words. He couldn't tell if the silence was comfortable and analytical or uncomfortable and awkward. He was desperately hoping that it was the first option. He could take a comfortable and thoughtful silence, especially right now. He'd much rather have Keith say _something_ and not make him feel incredibly embarrassed, but he could go for a breath of comfort right about now.

Keith was staring silently at him with very slightly pursed lips, his white eyes glazed over as if deep in thought. Lance stared back just as quietly, his mind racing with incoherent mumbles and loud, frantic screaming. More than anything, though, he was wondering what was going through Keith's mind. Was he trying to think of a way out of this? Or was he just confused? Uncomfortable?

"I… am not too familiar with this situation," Keith finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "I can't tell when I'm being played or when the offer is genuine- and I don't know if you're being very forward or if this is how it usually works-"

"I'm not playing you-"

Keith spoke over him as though he couldn't hear him. "But you seem to radiate something that I trust. You're trustworthy- you're not my enemy anymore. There isn't a reason for me to be hesitant."

Lance swallowed a nervous laugh, simply nodding instead, prodding him to continue whenever he was ready. Keith was different, Lance was well aware of that. He was soft and careful, and he seemed more than willing to put their past behind them. They both lost their parents to this feud - Lance had no reason to assume he was the only one who suffered. The more he had talked to Keith, the less defensive he felt. If anything, he felt relaxed. Relaxed at the idea of an alliance between the Altean and the Galra, rather than simply killing more people.

He wanted to get to know Keith. To see more of the good side of a Galra. And, more specifically, more of Keith. The offer to take him out was more than just a part of their truce - it was curiosity and interest. It was a feeling Lance wasn't familiar with, but he wasn't complaining about it, either. He was the kind of guy to do something about his feelings rather than bottle them up, and he knew that the feelings he had for Keith were going to either grow and overwhelm him into sadness, or they'd disappear completely - and neither of those options sounded pleasant.

Maybe it was the pacifist in him. The sympathizer. The childlike hopefulness that he was never quite able to get rid of, despite trying desperately for years in an attempt to grow up and be the prince he's meant to be.

Or maybe it was his parents, urging him to do something. To open up and explore the feelings overwhelming his stomach and head. To let himself be young and to put their griefs and past behind him; to start new with the Galra.

Whatever is was that encouraged the feelings Lance had, it was strong. He could feel it working his way through his veins and slowly shifting his view on Keith and the remaining Galra; moving his already-scattered thoughts around like puzzle pieces that all led to a world of peace and acceptance. Was it not in the Voltron code to love and accept everyone, regardless of their mistakes? Was that not what his father had attempted to do in regards of Zarkon? The only difference between their fathers and them was that Alfor had been too late. Lance still had a chance to help the Galra - to help _Keith._

As though the Galra prince had heard his name pass through Lance's head, Keith finally looked back up at Lance. "My mother was Altean, you know. Before she turned into a witch- she was Altean. She still had some Altean traits in her when I was young, and I remember her face clearly. It's the last thing I have left my real mother.. Memories. And of all of the things she's said to me, both good and bad, the one that has always stuck with me was something she whispered one night when I was a toddler. Before the war got heated and she lost her mind to madness and a lust for power. She told me that I wasn't meant for this life. That I never belonged to the Galra race. I was meant to be raised in a castle, talking to Alfor's children and playing with them like the other Altean children. But my father- he wanted to raise me as a Galra. So that's what happened. Her words have always stuck with me. I'm not _only_ Galra. I wasn't meant to be raised as a Galra."

He took a small breath. "Maybe it's not too late to find that part of me. The part my mother had been so keen on preserving during her time alive and normal." He sent Lance a small smile. "So… I accept your offer, Lance."

To say Lance was dumbfounded would be the biggest understatement known to man. There it was again-! The human-like qualities and words that Keith seemed to excel at absorbing. Not much was known about Haggar - Keith's mother - aside from being a powerful and emotionless witch, willing to follow every order Zarkon spewed at her. So Hunk had been right, Keith _was_ part Altean. Not that that changed any of the feelings Lance was experiencing, of course, but it was a bit comforting. A nice reminder that things weren't _always_ hostile between their aces.

Doing his best to push through the growing feeling of _something,_ Lance offered Keith a supportive (and very excited) beam. "I can already tell you're going to do wonders for the Galra, Keith." He winked before the situation became _too_ tender and he had to attempt to sweet talk the adorable person in front of him. "I mean, you already have impeccable taste in men, after all."

Keith scoffed, shoving Lance's arm before crossing his own across his chest. "Whatever, princess I already said yes, didn't I?"

Lance continued to smile. "Yeah, you did."

The silence was, finally, comfortable again. There was nowhere left in the castle to show him that would be deemed appropriate (all that was left were bedrooms and bathrooms) and the Quintant was nearly over, but they stood here together, completely okay with letting the rest of it pass in silence.

" _Lance!"_

Too bad Pidge was so Quiznaking _annoying._

The small brunette bounced up to them, a smirk plastered onto their smug face. Lance glared at them, but to no avail. They already saw him smiling; it was over for him. They leaned against the wall, sending Keith an all-knowing smile.

"Glad to have you with us, Keith," they said, their fingers forming a two-gun salute that didn't fit the Galra or Altean tradition in the slightest, but Keith returned it light-heartedly nonetheless. Pidge's smile grew a bit more genuine at that, turning their attention over to Lance. "Sorry to interrupt your date with Keith, Lance, but 'llura needs you in the command room ASAP. Something about a meeting with another kingdom or something tomorrow." They completely ignored Lance squawking about how it isn't a date (yet) as they turned back to Keith.

"Hey, Lance may be a huge loser, but he's _my_ loser. And he's soft. So be careful with him, okay? Have him home before ten. Whenever that even is- I still have trouble keeping up with the time in space. Hm…. I wonder if I could.." They trailed off, murmuring ideas under their breath that no one (aside from maybe Hunk) could possibly understand.

Despite the boiling frustration he was harboring towards the small, lost child (he would never call them that to their face. ' _I'm sixteen!' they'd spew, completely engulfed in rage. 'Ha', laughs Lance, 'I'm eighteen thousand years old, Pidge. That means nothing to me.'),_ Lance smiled at Pidge in adoration. They may be the biggest pain he had ever dealt with, but it was painfully obvious that they cared about Lance a lot. Hunk and Pidge were like his parents; Hunk would feed him home cooked meals and listen to him when he was upset, and Pidge would threaten to drag anyone who so much as _looked_ at him the wrong way into the ground. '

They were a very protective trio of friends.

"Earth to Lance." He was dragged out of his thoughts as a small palm very softly smacked against his cheek. Pidge was neither a mother or father (or any type of parental figure) to him, he realized. They're a gremlin who has feelings sometimes.

"Ow-? What w- oh, right. Allura needs me." Lance let out a long, winded sigh as he rubbed his cheek, turning over so he was facing Keith. If Pidge's sudden appearance had bothered him, he was doing an excellent job at hiding it. He almost seemed pleased with their company, which seemed absolutely shocking to Lance. He had to remind himself that Keith didn't know Pidge yet and wasn't aware that they were going to harass him the moment they were comfortable with each other.

Keith gave a small nod. "That's fine. I should probably return to my base soon, anyways. They're going to get anxious."

Pidge glanced over at Keith, slowly sliding her hand off of Lance's face. "Aw, already? Hunk really wanted to meet you."

"He… did?" Keith blinked. He had no idea who Hunk was, but the fact someone had been 'really wanting to meet him' was a bit of a surprise. Pidge nodded enthusiastically, grabbing onto Keith's arm as if they didn't know what personal space was. Keith didn't really mind, though.

"Yeah! He's been talking about meeting you a lot. Not _nearly_ as much as Lance was, but he can fill you in on that on your date." They winked at the two of them before dragging Keith along with to wherever Hunk was waiting.

Lance wanted to call out after them, to tell Pidge to let Keith return to the Galra, but Keith seemed perfectly content listening to Pidge ramble about twenty different things at once, and the sight filled Lance with an unfamiliar warmth. It wasn't until Keith slyly glanced over his shoulder that Lance was able to tear himself out of his thoughts.

Keith looked hesitant for a fraction of a second before he flashed him a small grin, the purple on his cheeks dusting a shade darker. Lance's markings had flashed a brighter color in surprise, but he hastily managed to return the grin before Keith assumed he was being brushed off. He saw him carefully mouth the word _tomorrow,_ to which Lance assumed he was talking about the date. Lance mimicked his unspoken promise, nodding to further show his agreement.

The purple seemed to reach a beautiful shade of violet, and Lance was completely convinced that the colors that surrounded them were dull and lifeless compared to the varying shades of purple he'd seen on Keith's face that day.

* * *

 **heyyyy! i love the altean and galra au so, so, _so_ much. it is almost painful just how much i adore this au. i got this idea after listening to if i were an artist by jake coco. i wanted to write a little oneshot based on a color and my gf gave me purple so! cool. i forgot to upload it on here so finally, here it is ngkfnhkng **


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